A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas

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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
Kristin Chenoweth is a Hollywood star in the holiday sky to show you a 'Lovely Way to Spend Christmas' with her 2008 Christmas album. Kristin Chenoweth effortlessly transitions between stage, television and film with the captivating grace that only she can project. In 2008 she is starring as Olive Snook in the highly anticipated return of the ABC series Pushing Daisies. She is also known to her television fans as Annabeth Schott on The West Wing. As one of most in-demand Broadway actresses, she originated the role of Glinda in the Tony Awardr- winning musical Wicked, and won the Tony Awardr for Best Actress in a musical for her performance in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A Lovely Way to Start Your Christmas Season October 14, 2008
30 out of 33 found this review helpful

Kristin Chenoweth has put out her first Christmas CD and it is absolutely beautiful. It's full of Christmas classics that everyone knows and a few lesser known Christmas songs. She sings the songs in the traditional way and some have a country twang to it.

1. I'll be home for Christmas- 5/5 One of my all-time favorite Christmas classics. Kristin does the song well.

2. Christmas Island- 3/5 A song I hadn't heard of before. It's got a Hawaiian sound to it. It's an okay song but not one of my favorites on the cd.

3. The Christmas Waltz-5/5 Kristin's voice sounds gorgeous on this song. It's a softer version than other versions of this song that I've heard before.

4. Do you hear what I hear?- 5/5 Another one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. I love Kristin's version of it. I love how her voice echoes during the "Do you hear what I hear" part. It's sounds lovely and has a twinkly sound that is throughout the song (I'm not sure what instrument makes that sound.

5. Sleigh Ride/Marshmallow world- 4/5 I prefer the beginning of this song. It's an okay duet wth John Pizzarelli but it's not one of my favorites.

6. Sing- 4/5 It's another song where the beginning of the song is my favorite part.

7. Silver Bells- 5/5 This is my all-time favorite Christmas song. Kristin presents a version with an intro that I haven't heard before. It then goes into a version that has a country twang to it. But it's still one of my favorites on the album.

8. Come on ring those bells- 5/5 This is a full-blown country song. It kind of reminds me of a Dolly Parton song. I like it though.

9. What Child is this?- 5/5 This is my favorite Christmas song right after Silver Bells. I adore Kristin's version of this song. It starts with a Celtic sound and goes into Kristin singing softly. I think it's gorgeous sounded and one of the best versions I've heard of this song.

10. Home on Christmas Day-5/5 I hadn't heard this song before but I like it. For most of the song, it's just Kristin singing with a piano but then it goes into an orchestra sound.

11. Born on Christmas Day-4/5 Another soft song. It's a nice song but I'm not sure it will be played as much as some of the other songs on the album for me.

12.Sleep well little children/What a wonderful world- 5/5 A beautiful way to end the album. I love how she put the two songs together. It works really well. It's a great lullaby sounding song.

So if you're a fan of Kristin from "Wicked" or "Pushing Daisies" or just enjoy Christmas music, I think this would be a great addition to your Christmas music collection.

2 out of 5 stars

A Warning for Traditionalists November 3, 2008
17 out of 31 found this review helpful

Obviously I'm not in agreement with the other reviewers here and, for those of you who might share my musical tastes, I'll tell you why.

Ms. Chenoweth has a beautiful, supple, well-trained voice; of that there's no doubt. It's what she's doing with it lately that I don't care for. A while back (when I listened to her with great pleasure) she had very much her own style, rooted in a classic Broadway musical mode. Recently, she's doing a persistent Whitney Houston imitation, bending every note. She's lost her unique style and now sounds like every other Beyonce or Whatever, but with a voice of better quality. This attempt to sound average does her no credit, and is particularly ill-chosen for the music on this cd. It jars, like Aretha Franklin trying to sing opera or Renee Fleming rapping (even though they are both great artists).

I realize most people won't agree, and that Ms. Chenoweth will certainly sell more records trying to sing like Whitney Houston than like herself. We're living in an age of uniformity, and everyone must pretty much sound the same or settle for cult status like the divine (but not terribly well known) Stephen Merritt.

Suffice to say that if you are NOT a fan of Whitney, Britney, and Beyonce, you probably won't enjoy Ms. Chenoweth's treatment of these classic Christmas songs.

5 out of 5 stars

Pure Christmas Magic October 21, 2008
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

As much as I love Christmas music, there are very few CD's that grab me from the moment I first start listening to them. But that was the case with this CD. From the very first note of "I'll Be Home for Christmas," I was drawn into a world of snow and twinkling lights and presents. Kristin's voice made me want to snuggle up by a fire, and its still 80's degrees here in Southern California.

The CD ranges in style from jazz on "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (with a lovely sax solo), to big band on "Sleigh Ride/Marshmallow World" and "Christmas Island" and even a hint of country on "Silver Bells."

Speaking of country, she goes full blown country on "Come On, Ring Those Bells." I have another version of this song I consider my favorite Christmas song, so that choice was a bit of a disappointment. Even this song won me over after a few more listens, however.

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is amazing. The music starts quietly with just bells as Kristin sings the first verse. As the song progresses, the orchestra builds. Kristin even echoes herself at times.

"Home on Christmas Day" is at once sad and beautiful. It's a song to the loved ones no longer in her life letting them know they will always have a home in her heart at Christmas.

I've never heard the normally upbeat "Christmas Waltz" performed this slowly before, but I fell in love with it half way through.

I'm not normally a fan of artists recording songs that aren't normally Christmas on Christmas releases, but even that works here. "Sing" incorporates a Christmas themed second verse while "What a Wonderful World" is combined with Christmas lullaby "Sleep Well Little Children."

I know this is a disc I will pull out often over the coming years whenever I need to get into the Christmas mood. I have no qualms calling it a masterpiece already. I am sure it will stand the test of time.

1 out of 5 stars

I feel a little ripped-off November 20, 2008
13 out of 22 found this review helpful

You can buy (download) the same album in Apple's iTunes store for the same price, but the one in the iTunes store contains two additional songs ("A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas" and "The Lord's Prayer".)

I feel rather ripped off, I wish I had looked in the iTunes store before buying from Amazon this time.

5 out of 5 stars

Top Three October 15, 2008
9 out of 13 found this review helpful

My favorite day of the year is Christmas. My favorite memories in childhood are almost all of Christmas. Therefore, I am very picky about my Christmas albums. Unfortunately, I tend to buy five or more new ones every year (I have already bought three this year, and it's not even half way through October--Yikes). Most of the Christmas albums leave me wanting. They all have the same songs, sung the same way, and most feel like they are thrown together last minutes and never really had any time or love lavished upon them. When they do try to do something new or change an original, they end up stripping away the magic from the song. As a result, there are only three albums I would ever give a five star rating: Amy Grant--Home for Christmas; Mariah Carey--Merry Christmas; and now Kristin Chenoweth--A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas. Every single song is a winner. Even a couple songs I typically hate (Christmas Island) are fantastic. The good old traditional songs are done with new life and vigor, while keeping a truly magic feeling. She even did a recording of 'Come On Ring Those Bells', a song I haven't heard since I was a kid, and she did it with enough twang and sass to make any country boy proud. (This is the only song with twang--don't let that freak you out.) She has a great duet on Sleigh Ride/Marshmallow World with John Pizzarelli, which I think is my favorite on the album, but there are four or five that are fighting to be tied for first place. It is obvious the time, talent, and painful detail that went into the making of this album. Truly a remarkable Christmas album. One that will last throughout the generations. And if you're worried that you're gonna be serenaded by GaLinda. Get over it! It's a good thing! Buy the Album, light the fire, decorate the tree, hang the mistletoe and get ready for a great Christmas.

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